Apparatus for treating a thin film of liquid by exposure to radiant energy



G. W. JONES June 13, 1967 APPARATUS FOR TREATING A THIN FILM OF LIQUIDBY EXPOSURE TO HADIANT ENERGY Filed Feb. 17, 1964 /I TREATED BLOOD OUTINVENTOR GEORGE W. JONES UNTREATED /D uw '5 a 4 vv 2 EM mw )ww UC 6 N.IU ww PU F m0 BLooD IN BY Mg' /W ATTORNEY United States Patent3,325,641 APPARATUS FOR TREATING A THIN FILM F LIQUID BY EXPOSURE T0RADIANT ENERGY George W. Jones, 503 Fairmont Ave., Winchester, Va. 22601Filed Feb. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 345,444 1 Claim. (Cl. Z50- 44) Thisinvention relates to liquid treatment apparatus and it has specialapplication in the treatment of blood and blood plasma for human andveterinarian therapy.

The invention comprises improvements in apparatus disclosed in my priorPatents Nos. 2,827,901 and 3,046,- 903.

`One of the objects of the present invention is the provision ofimprovements in such apparatus which renders them applicable to broadertreatment techniques, such as oxygenation under controlled pressuredconditions, including hyperbaric and sub-atmospheric pressures, eX-posure to radiant energy, such as by infra-red and ultra violet light,X-rays, radioactive isotopes, etc.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for improvingthe eiliciency of contact between the liquid being treated and a gas,such as oxygen, and/or radiant energy with which the liquid is to betreated.

A further object of the invention is the provision of improvements fordebubbling treated liquid containing an excess of absorbed gas.

A still further object is the provision of means for forming the liquidto be treated into a continuous thin film in a treatment zone.

A specific object of the invention is the provision of means fortreating cancer cells in blood by means of radiation, contact with atreatment gas or gases under selected conditions including hyperbaricpressures.

Another specific object is the provision of means whereby cells of thehuman body may be treated by extracorporeal conditioning of the bloodwhich is then returned to the circulatory system of the body.

A further specific object is the provision of means for removing fromblood carbon monoxide and/or other injurious gases that have beenabsorbed thereby, such as from inhalation of combustion gases.

A still further specific object is the provision of apparatus for thepurposes indicated which is inexpensive, has relatively few parts. isreadily assembled and disassembled, and easily sterilized.

These and still further objects, advantages and features of theinvention will appear more fully from the following descriptionconsidered together with the accompanying drawing, which showsschematically various elements combined and modified in accordance withan embodiment of this invention, some parts being shown in section.

Referring to the drawing with more particularity, the embodimentillustrated comprises a treatment chamber of glass or other suitablematerial having an upper bulbous part 1 and a lower neck portion 2.

The lower end of the neck portion 2 is closed with a removable screw cap3 which has a flat bottom 4 for supporting the chamber on a horizontalsurface, such as that of a platform 5. The cap 3 may be secured to theplatform by any suitable means such as screws 6.

A hollow cylindrical heat exchanger 7 is disposed on the platform aboutthe neck 2 and it is secured to the platform by screws 8.

A liquid inlet tube 11 passes upwardly through the platform 5 and thecap 3 and, hence, along the longitudinal axis of the chamber. It is heldin position by means of a tubular holder 9 threadedly engaging aremovable plug 10. The holder 9 can be adjustably positioned in the plug10 by means of a knurled knob 9.

The upper end of the tube 11 is provided with an outlet nozzle 12 whichfunctions to spread the liquid passing through the tube in a circularspray pattern for impingement against the wall of the chamberimmediately thereabove to facilitate its iiow downwardly and evenlyalong an interior surface 13 of the chamber in a thin lm 14. The use ofthe nozzle may be disposed with in many cases where a satisfactory flowcan be obtained with the open tube alone.

Liquid is conducted to the tube 11 through a pipe 15 on the dischargeside of a pumping unit 16. The pumping unit may be of any suitable typebut preferably of the type shown and described in my said prior PatentNo. 3,046,903. Liquid is fed to the pumping unit 16 through an inletpipe 17, the source of which may be the blood of a living organism (notshown) to be treated, or liquid from a mechanical reservoir (not shown)or liquid from any other source of supply.

Alongside the liquid inlet tube 11 there is disposed in the treatmentchamber a gas inlet tube 18, the lower end of which passes out throughthe cap 3 and the platform 5 to a conventional 3-way valve 19. The valve19 has an outlet 20 which is connected to the tube 18 by pipes 21, afirst inlet 22 and a second inlet 23. The rst inlet 22 is connected to asource of gas under pressure, such as a bottle 24 of oxygen or otherconventional gas apparatus having conventional pressure and dischargeregulating devices 25. The second inlet 23 of the valve is connected toa source of vacuum (not shown). By these means, gas pressure conditionswithin the treatment chamber can be selectively controlled through thevalve 19 to provide hyperbaric pressures of different magnitudes orsubatmospheric pressures. Also, these opposite pressure conditions canbe provided in an alternating or intermittent fashion by simply rotatingthe conventional actuator (not shown) of the valve 19 between the twopositions for communication to the vacuum source on the one hand and tothe pressure apparatus on the other.

Liquid treated inside the chamber is discharged through an outlet pipe25 at the bottom of the neck portion 2 passing through the cap 3. Theupper open end of the pipe 25 is provided with a float valve whichcomprises a stem 26 connected to a ball float 27 at the top with a plug28 at the bottom. The stem 26 is slidably mounted on loops 29, 29 of abracket 30 to retain the plug 2S in alignment with the open end of thepipe 25.

The pipe 25 is connected to the inlet 31 of a conventional 3-way valve32. One outlet 33 of the valve 32 is connected by a by-pass pipe 34 tothe inlet of the pumping unit 16. The other outlet 35 of the valve 32 isconnected by a pipe 36 to a debubbling reservoir 37 which receives thetreated liquid. The liquid may be retained in this debubbling reservoirsufficiently long to permit the release of excess gas adsorbed therebyin the treatment chamber. The reservoir is vented to the atmosphere bymeans of a vent tube 38. Liquid is withdrawn from the reservoir througha valved discharge tube 39. The vent tube 38 is provided with an airfilter 40 to filter air which may be drawn into the reservoir throughdisplacement when liquid is removed through the discharge tube 39. Bythese means the liquid passing out of the treatment apparatus can becontrolled by either recirculating it when additional treatment isnecessary or alternatively discharged completely from the system.

A support rod 41 is also disposed within the treatment chamber. Thelower end is attached to a threaded holder 42 which engages a threadedplug 43 through the bottom of the cap 3. A knurled head 45 at the bottomof the holder 42 facilitates turning it so as to adjust the elevation ofthe upper end of the rod. The upper end of the rod is provided with agroup of fingers 46 which are arranged to form a cup holder for a pellet47 of radiant energy, such as radium, radioactive cobalt isotopes, orother conventional sources of radiant energy that is or may be valuablein the treatment of blood or other liquid.

In actual practice, the apparatus may 'be used in a number of differentways, depending upon the treatment to be achieved. In general, however,t-he source of liquid to 'be treated, such as blood, is connected to theinlet tube 17 of the pumping unit 16. Thus, liquid is forced by thepumping unit continuously or intermittently through the inletv tube 11of the treatment chamber. It passes through the tube 11 continuously orintermittently to impinge on the interior surface 13 of the bulbousportion 1 and thence flows down over this surface 13 in a thin film 14.The thickness of the film can be controlled to -a degree by controllingthe rate at which liquid en-ters the treatment chamber by means of avalve 48 in pipe 15 or by controlling the action of the pumping unit 16or both.

Where treatment of the yliquid is to be effected 'by a gas, such asoxygen, the inlet 22 of t-he valve 19 is connected to a source of gas,such as the gas bottle 24 and the desired rate of ow and/ or pressure isregulated by the conventional regulator 25' connected thereto.

When it is desired to subject the liquid to treatment by sub-atmosphericpressure, the inlet 23 of the valve 19 is connected to a source ofvacuum and the valve 19 set to close t-he tube 18 to communication withthe bottle 24 and Iopen it to the source of vacuum. The position of thevalve 19 may be changed for or during any particular treatment. It may,for example, be used to subject the liquid being treated first tosub-atmospheric and then to hyperbaric pressures, such as where it isdesired to combine treatment by both these facilities.

Alternatively or simultaneously with these treatment facilities, radiantenergy may be supplied to the liquid film through pellets 47, such asthat of a radioactive isotope, or other means.

Treated liquid in the treatment chamber collects in the lneck portion 2and it is normally prevented from being discharged by the float valvewhen the plug 28 is seated on the tube 25. However, when the level ofliquid in the neck portion 2 rises sufficiently high to elevate the ball27, the valve is opened and liquid is discharged through the pipe 25-until the level of liquid falls to a point Where the valve is againclosed 'by the lowering of the ball 27.

Liquid normally passes from the tube 25 into the debubbling reservoir 37where excess gas adsorbed by the liquid can be removed. The liquid canbe withdrawn from the reservoir through the outlet tube 39 for use asneeded.

Where liquid passing out lof Vthe treatment chamber through the tube 25requires additional treatment in the treatment chamber, it may bereturned to the system through the by-pass 34 by resetting the valve 32.

To remove static electrical charges which may accumu- 4 late on thesurface of the liquid as it passes through the system, particularly onthe film surface, an electrical ground conductor 49 is disposed in thetreatment chamber in contact with the liquid, as shown.

A bell-shaped radiation shield 50 is also provided for removabledisposition about the treatment chamber when radioactive treatment isbeing effected.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

Apparatus for variously treating a liquid comprising a treatment chamberhaving a confined space delineated by an outer wall, said wall having adownwardly extending arcuate portion, an inlet tube for carrying liquidto be treated into the space, a nozzle on the inner end of the inlettube for subdividing a stream of the liquid directed to an uppermostarea of the arcuate portion, whereby the liquid spray in continuouslycontacting said area collects in the form of a thin lm and flows bygravity along the inner surface of the arcuate portion, the shape of thefilm conforming to the shape of the arcuate portion, a source oftreatment gas under superatmospheric pressure and a source of vacuum,-means for selectively communicating the space within the chamberadjacent the lm with either of the said sources while the film is in astate of flow so as to permit subjecting the lm continuously to theeffects of the gas and the vacuum alternatively, means for collectingthe film in a pool at the bottom of the chamber, an outlet for thedischarge of liquid from the pool, a float valve for controlling theflow of liquid from the pool to the outlet as Ia function of the levelof the liquid in the pool, a debubbling reservoir connected to theoutlet, means for selectively recycling liquid in the pool through theinlet tu'be, said chamber comprising a lower neck portion, an annularheat exchanger surrounding the lower neck portion, a source of radiantyenergy supported in the chamber adjacent the Wall, `and a radiationshield removably disposed about the chamber and the source of radiantenergy.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 854,965 5/1907 Petter 25o-471,068,898 7/1913 Henri et al. 250-49 1,842,313 1/1932 Chaney 250-492,651,724 9/1953 Hall 250-49 2,849,621 8/1958 Clark 250-106 2,968,734l/l961 Yeomans 250-44 X 3,043,982 7/1962 Wehrli 250-49 RALPH G. NILSON,Primary Examiner.

W. F LINDQUIST, Assistant Examiner.

